Miter saws are used for cutting and shaping workpieces, such as, hardwood, manufactured wood products, construction lumber, and other materials. The typical miter saw includes a base on which a turntable is mounted for rotation. The turntable and a portion of the base define a workpiece support surface, on which a workpiece to be cut by the miter saw is positioned. A support assembly of the miter saw is connected to the turntable and functions to support a cutting assembly that is operable to perform a cutting operation on the workpiece. The support assembly includes components that enable the cutting assembly to move upward and downward in relation to the turntable in order to cut the workpiece positioned thereon.
Some miter saws are configured for use with a workpiece clamp, which operates to fixedly position a workpiece on the workpiece support surface. Known workpiece clamps are typically connected to the base of the miter saw. When a workpiece clamp is in a clamped configuration, the clamp applies a clamping force to the workpiece. The clamping force fixedly maintains the position of the workpiece relative to the workpiece support surface as the cutting assembly cuts the workpiece.
Known workpiece clamps adequately position the workpiece on the workpiece support surface; however, some users may desire a workpiece clamp that is easily adjustable to the dimensions of the particular workpiece being cut by the miter saw. For example, some users may find it time consuming to adjust known workpiece clamps to the thickness of the particular workpiece being cut. Specifically, some workpiece clamps are adjustable to the thickness of a workpiece only through a trial and error process, which involves making an adjustment to the clamp and then repeatedly moving the clamp between the clamped configuration and an unclamped configuration until a desired clamping force is achieved.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an improved workpiece clamp that increases the ease with which the clamp is adjusted to the dimensions of a workpiece.